Saturday Morning

Today it is raining, and my diet is not going well. I should learn that a whole tub of ben & jerry's cookie dough ice cream is not proper diet food. But I was ill so it doesn't count?

To celebrate my crappy diet skills I shall go to the cinema and eat popcorn. Then from Sunday onwards I shall only eat good food, like fruit and vegetables, and maybe next week will be a better week.

In other news, I was ill this week. A horrible, horrible cold. The kind of cold that makes your whole body ache. I still have a sore throat/croaky voice thing going on. So I still can't sleep properly. You would think that being sick means you need to sleep to recover, but you can't sleep when you're sick, so you just get worse. Its stupid.

But better news, I get to see Lifehouse again in February! Woo! Very excited for that. I was going to count the days, but its alot of days, and there is alot to do before then. Like write an essay, and a report, and a presentation, and have christmas, and become 24.

I spent a large part of this week puzzling out Gantt Charts and Critical Path Analysis. These are supposed to make project management easier. They frustrate me. But I suppose they do help eventually, once you figure them out. Plus if you colour code them they can look awfully pretty.

I also watched alot of episodes of Jamie Oliver's 30-minute meals. Everything always looks so darn tasty, and is apparently quite easy to do. I don't know if I believe this but I shall try. I'm going to make pasta and sauce tomorrow inspired by Jamie Oliver, I hope it is as tasty as it looked on tv.

And the best news of all? I got new thermal socks. Oh yes, I said thermal socks. You see when you spend a good portion of your day, at the coldest part of the day, standing at a bus stop, having warm feet is such a wonderful thing.

Last Night

I went to see Lifehouse.

Lifehouse are awesome. That's pretty much it. Jason Wade is even better in person. The whole atmosphere of every song comes across so much stronger than on the cd (or mp3).

The show started off quite bouncy, with some of the newer rockier songs, but there was a wonderful mix of old stuff in there too. They played some of my favourites, like Everything, Broken, Hanging by a Moment, Breathing, You and Me and Blind. Jason did a mini acoustic set in the middle, which was lovely.

I think I like my favourite songs even more now that I have heard them live. Especially Broken. It is one of those songs that just has this power, and live that power is amplified. You and Me was also lovely, because everyone could sing along, and that had that wonderful feeling of when thousands of people sing one song together in a venue. If you have never had that live music experience then I am sorry, it is wonderful.

I took some photos - a selection of which are here. They are pretty much Jason orientated, because he is quite special. That's not to say the rest of the band aren't. I also made some mini snippet videos, which I don't feel right putting on here (for copyright reasons, because they contain their music, and we have to be careful and respectful of that). But I am now watching them over and over - mostly for the sound element, I am not a particularly good videographer, but the sounds that come from them are lovely.

I'll leave with you with some photos, and I hope that everyone gets to see their favourite band live once in their lives, its really quite nice.

Bedtime at 7pm.

This week has been terribly exhausting. Getting up at 6am is horrible. And it has rained alot. I even had to wear a coat! I hate wearing coats.

The learning things is going ok, didn't learn loads this week but it was only the beginning, next week will be more intense. I have lots of reading to do.

In other news, everyone should read Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore because they are wonderful books. Fantasy (that are apparently for like teenagers? but I don't think so), with wonderful love stories running underneath. They brightened my dreary bus journeys.

Also, I got a sneak peek of the Anselm Kiefer exhibition that opens at Baltic next week, via the viewing platform on Level 5. I would go there everyday and watch if I could! (In fact I probably could, but I think the gallery assistants might start to become suspicious of me) I am terribly excited for this exhibition. Kiefer is awesome.

The best news of all is that Lifehouse is next week yay!!! And Jason's finger is healing so he can play guitar, which is slightly essential to this whole music making thing. I am extremely excited for this show, it's like one of my life's ambitions about to come true! If only I could decide what to wear!!! (Lifehouse deserves ridiculous amounts of exclamation marks)

I bought new socks today, because in my week of commuting I have realised the benefits of good socks. They keep your feet warm. Which is essential whilst waiting at a bus stop. Even more so when walking around a city.

Now I must go to sleep, even though it is only 8:30pm (I lied in the title, I would like bedtime to be 7pm, but that is just a little too early). It may seem early, but I like sleep, and have gotten used to having about 10 or 11 hours each night this summer, so this week has been a harsh and horrible upset of that. Goodnight world.

Freaking Out.

Tomorrow I go back to University, to learn things, in order to progress, and one day have a proper job, and a little terraced house with a big comfy armchair and floor to ceiling bookcases.

First I have to learn the things. Which is scary, because I haven't learnt things in a University atomosphere for over a year now. I haven't been to a lecture in longer than that (because my learning at the end of my undergraduate degree was practical, and I didn't really do much learning anyway). Therefore I am scared.

So I am preparing in my own special way.

Over the last 2 weeks I have watched Greys Anatomy from Season 2 to the end of Season 6. I have knitted alot of hats, even though I don't wear hats. I have made some lino prints. I have made soup, and experimented with new recipes for new things (including some amazing turkey meatballs and spaghetti, seriously, hand made meatballs with turkey mince, garlic, basil and oregano, amazing! And easy, and healthy!).

The only seemingly sensible thing I have done is find some assorted stationary in my cupboards and re-cover it to make it look pretty. I have notebooks and paper and files all ready to be filled with new knowledge. I even have an academic diary, and new shoes to wear while learning the new things. Well done me.

The one thing I should have done is read some books from the reading list. I bought them weeks ago. But have I read them? Um, no.

I started on Thursday, but just couldn't, I wasn't seeing the words.

Today I read one essay, and I think I absorbed it, it was interesting. This makes me a little less scared, but not terribly so. I have alot to absorb. To reward myself for the reading I watched Transformers.

So now I expect I should continue, and read some more. Well I might. But I think I might watch Indiana Jones instead. I like Harrison Ford. And this new one has Shia Laboeuf as well. What more could a girl ask for?

Wish me luck on my learning endeavours, I think I might need it!

(Please note this scared thing does not stop me from being excited, I want to learn the things, I do. Its just a little intimidating.)

I think its time

for me to re-read "First Lord's Fury", the final book in the Codex of Alera series by Jim Butcher.

I love Jim Butcher, he is awesome, especially at writing books. I first got addicted to the Harry Dresden novels, and soon wanted to read his other work as well, and then got equally addicted to Codex of Alera.

Alera is a more fantasy series, although it is what I refer to as fantasy-lite, which just means it is nowhere as near as long as some of the fantasy books around, and doesn't spend a whole chapter describing a tree. Personally I prefer this lite version of fantasy, I am impatient and I like stuff to happen in books, and I much appreciate being able to imagine parts myself, without being told exactly what it looks like (which is why I think I prefer books to films and tv in the end). This series is about Tavi, and others, and some adventures and battles, and magic. I won't go into lots of detail (because I am rubbish at describing books) but I would recommend to anyone to read the series.

Jim Butcher's most longest and famousest series is the Harry Dresden series, about a wizard who lives in Chicago and has an office and everything. This series is kind of urban fantasy I suppose, but I think it is one of the best of that genre around. It has action and magic, and mystery and crime, and occasionally some romance, and the best part is that it is funny too (it is also dark in the correct places, I'm not saying this is a comedy series, it most definitely isn't). There has been a few occasions that I have been on public transport reading one of the books, and I have had to laugh out loud, and therefore gotten some funny looks, but it is just that funny. You can't put them down either. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to find a copy in a bookshop that didn't understand the concept of a release date, and so got to read the latest, "Changes" early, it was a wonderful, wonderful day for me! Now I am waiting till next April for the next installment, which seems like forever. Hurry up April please.

So off I go now to read, with a short intermission to watch some Supernatural, because Sam and Dean are hard to resist. ttfn

yay for alphabet rubber stamps

Today I went to some museums. The first one costed £1.30, and the ticket lasts for a month, this is fine, I am willing to pay that, it was a fun little crazy museum about my home town, and there was a printing press, and I have a bit of a thing about printing presses.

The second one (well it wasn't a museum but it was kind of), promised me live butterflies, lots and lots of butterflies. But it cost £3.50, and, well, I am self employed, with currently no job prospects, and about to start an ma which costs £4000. Therefore I am quite poor. So I didn't get to see Butterflies today (except the ones in my garden, which will just have to do for now).

The third one I'm sure was supposed to be free. But I arrived, with my museum going friend in tow, and lo and behold it costs £5. And well, I like trains and railway stuff, but at the moment, I don't like it £5 worth.

Our final stop was successful, the wonderful galleries at Darlington Arts Centre, which have magically changed what is being shown since I was there last (which was last week, which makes it better). Three lovely exhibitions, all completely different but quite lovely. And best of all? Its FREE!!!

I like free museums and art.

Yesterday I went to see another free art gallery. In Newcastle. Its called the Baltic. Sorry, I meant to say its in Gateshead. I forget sometimes about that one side of the river thing.

Usually the Baltic doesn't show things I want to see. But at the moment it does. Some nice prints and drawings by John Cage (not the one from Ally MacBeal, but one who is apparently more famous and also a composer, who knew?), some strange sculptures/installations/drawings by Cornelia Parker, which I had mixed expectations of but I quite enjoyed. Finally some bizarre things inspired by John Cage, and a strange spiderweb. All of these things were really quite lovely, and interesting. And of course it was free, which is always nice when you are on a budget.

I mean, I understand that museums and galleries have to charge sometimes because it costs money to run a gallery/museum, and its only going to get worse with all this budget cut rubbish that is hanging over the art world like an anvil about to drop. But sometimes, I wish I could go and see everything for free, especially at the moment when I don't have money to spare.

In other news, my day was made much better when I discovered some alphabet rubber stamps on sale for 99p in a local art shop. I LOVE alphabet rubber stamps. You can stamp words, or whole sentences, and its just wonderful.

I also got some isometric paper. Which is just about as exciting as the rubber stamps, because its all triangles, and I can mix them with the stripes, or draw maps on it, and there will be triangles.

Yes, I do get excited by alphabet rubber stamps, and isometric paper. That is my life. Its quite sad, but also quite nice. (I also quite like graph paper, and printing presses, alot.)

PS - the stripes and stamps are for a new idea/project I am working on. I'm using squares and putting on stripes, and there are some maps mixed in, its quite nice, photographic evidence will arrive shortly.

Rain.

Rain is quite annoying.

Most especially lately because my windscreen wipers are not so great. So whenever it rains I have to avoid driving places.

I've been reading some lovely books lately. They are by Maria Snyder, and are kind of fantasy type magic themed. But of course they are not that high fantasy I'm-going-to-spend-100-pages-describing-a-tree type thing. Stuff actually happens, and its all in a made up world of magic and magicians, and people who live in trees, and in the desert, and evil people who steal other peoples magic. (and they aren't ridiculously long and heavy)

The first trilogy is about Yelena, who starts off as a prisoner, then becomes a food taster, and finally realises she is a magician. Then she goes off on some adventures, and gets in trouble, and nearly dies, etc. I read all 3 in a few days, because I wanted to know what happened next.

The second trilogy is a bit of a spin off, about Opal, who is a glass magician. There are only 2 books of this trilogy that have currently been released, which annoys my impatient streak quite alot.

These books have a lovely mix of fantasy, magic, action, with a bit of a love story, and some mystery and adventure. The lead is, in both cases, a strong female, who sometimes is a bit more of a damsel in distress, but most of the time she saves herself, which is important, because in the end we all must save ourselves. These books are not amazingly amazing (like anything by Jim Butcher), but they are worth reading I think. For an enjoyable time more than anything. And that's why we read books isn't it? For fun? At least thats my reason.